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Biggles in the Underworld/plot
Chapter 1: An Unusual Briefing Air Commodore Raymond asks Biggles to take up the case of Nicholas Lazor, otherwise known as "Nick the Sheikh" or "Lazor the Razor" because of his habit of wielding and slashing at his enemies with a razor. Lazor is, according to Raymond, a master criminal who had tried everything from forgery, blackmail to safe-breaking. He had been sentenced for seven years in Dartmoor but had escaped. Incredibly, he had evaded arrest for two years by joining the R.A.F. There he had performed so well that he had been sent for flying training and had qualified as a sergeant-pilot. When he heard he was slated for a Far East detachment, he had deserted. There is only a slender lead for Biggles. Recently, a retired policeman named Rigby, whom Lazor had slashed with a razor, had seen him emerging from the Barchester Hotel just at the time some valuable pearls belonging to Lady Crantonby had gone missing. Rigby followed Lazor to the Icarian Club in Piccadilly where Lazor had met a young man. Considering the name and purpose of the club, the young man was also probably a pilot and he might have been receiving the pearls to fly out of the country. Chapter 2: A Meeting and a Warning There is not much to go on so Biggles joins the Icarian Club to keep watch for the young man. Nothing happens for six days but then, by the accident of a spilled drink at the bar, Biggles comes face to face with Brian Basil Caine, a young man who fits exactly the description given by Rigby. Caine starts talking, rather indiscreetly and probably under the influence of drink. He tells Biggles about a private aircraft which he keeps at a place called Twotrees Farm in Hampshire. He might even be able to offer Biggles a job. Further conversation is halted when a club steward calls Caine to the phone. He returns looking rather subdued and soon takes his leave. Outside the club, a figure steps out of the shadows and slashes at Biggles. Biggles sidesteps and avoids the blade but later finds that his raincoast has been slashed by a razor. It must have been Nick the Sheikh! Evidently someone, probably Charlie, the club manager, has been keeping Lazor informed of Caine's meeting with Biggles. It would also explain the phone call to Caine and his rapid mood change. Chapter 3: Routine Inquiries Checks with the Air Ministry reveal that Caine served in the same R.A.F. squadron as Lazor and that Caine had been invalidated out on grounds of defective eyesight, which Biggles finds strange. Meanwhile Bertie is sent to check out Twotrees Farm. Chapter 4: Problems for Bertie After some searching, Bertie finds Twotrees Farm, which appears strangely deserted. The barn is stacked high with hay but there are no animals. Exploring the barn, he comes across the familiar smells of aircraft--petrol, oil and dope. Soon, a car arrives and a man steps out. Another man mysteriously appears from somewhere in the farm and the two go into the farmhouse together. There is an argument and then one man rushes out and drives off in a hurry. But now Bertie has problems of his own. A fierce dog is approaching him menacingly. Not for the first time, Bertie takes the option of climbing up something, in this case one of the iron girders supporting the roof of the barn, next to the trusses of hay. In this he almost succeeds but then loses his footing and falls into the hay. He hits something hard and becomes unconscious. Chapter 5: What Happened at the Club With Bertie in Hampshire, Biggles returns to the Icarian Club where he meets Caine again. Caine tells Biggles to ignore everything he said the last time--he was drunk and was talking nonsense. Biggles gives Caine a friendly warning about avoiding dangerous people such as Nick the Sheikh but Caine insists he knows no such person. Returning home, there is still no news from Bertie so Biggles goes with Ginger to look for him. Chapter 6: A Shocking Discovery Nearing Twotrees Farm, Biggles and Ginger always collide with a Jaguar heading the other way in a hurry but they decide it can't be Bertie. They find the farmhouse deserted but there is blood everywhere. Then from outside they hear voices which seem to come from the barn and head there to investigate. Chapter 7: What Became of Bertie Bertie comes to and discovers that there is an aircraft hidden inside the haystack. Unable to get out, he decides to wait inside the cockpit. Lazor turns up through a secret doorway cut into the fake haystack and angrily demands what Bertie is doing there. He doesn't beieve his explanations and pulls out his razor intending to strike. Things would have turned ugly, but Biggles and Ginger have climbed up the haystack and, covering Lazor with his gun, orders him to stop. Lazor draws his gun and fires a random shot and disappears again through the doorway. Chapter 8: Pause for Speculation Lazor escapes in a car. Meanwhile the sparks from his gunshot has set fire to the barn. Biggles calls Algy and learns that Caine has been found--he had driven to the cottage hospital at Repford with a 6 inch cut in his face--evidently from an argument he had with Lazor. Biggles decides to question Caine the next morning. Chapter 9: A Slender Clue Caine's story is much as Biggles expected but he adds an imoportant fact: he thinks Lazor might try to fly abroad as he knows other people who owned planes. One such person, called "Tommy" had once flown Lazor to Twotrees Farm in an old Gipsy Moth. Chapter 10: Still on the Trail Back at the farm, Biggles discovers a phone number scribbled on the phone directory. Biggles calls it and discovers that it is the Podbury Flying Club so he and Ginger fly there. Chapter 11: Biggles Gets Tough The club secretary, Kendrick Seaton-Thompson at first denies knowing Caine or Lazor but becomes worried when he learns what had happened to Caine and agrees to talk. Chapter 12: The Truth Comes Out Thompson confesses that he does know Lazor--in fact he had joined the club. Lazor had asked him to do him a favour by dropping a package, a birthday present to a girlfriend in France. He shows it to Biggles who cuts open the package and finds that it contains Lady Crantonby's pearls. Just then, they hear an aircraft starting up and taking off. It must be Lazor! Thompson admits that Lazor had been around the club and he knew Thompson was being interviewed by two policemen. He must have decided to steal Thompson's Gipsy Moth and escape. Ginger takes off in the Air Police Auster to give chase. Chapter 13: More Mystery Through Algy, Biggles learns that Ginger has followed Lazor to Twotrees Farm. Using an Auster Aiglet borrowed from Podbury Club, Biggles and Thompson head there. They find the Gipsy Moth crashed against some trees, with Ginger's Auster near by, but neither Ginger nor Lazor can be found. Biggles sends Thompson to check out the farmhouse and then he hears three gunshots. Chapter 14: The Unexpected Happens What happened to Ginger was this: he had followed Lazor to Twotrees Farm and had observed his crash. He landed nearby and went to the Gipsy Moth intending to render aid but found himself almost slashed in the face by the apparently unhurt Lazor wielding a razor. Lazor then climbed out of the Moth and disappeared into the undergrowth near the farm. Chapter 15: Hot Work in Cold Blood Ginger also hears the same gunshots as Biggles. Investigating the source, he comes across the body of a gamekeeper, apparently shot, and probably by Lazor. Ginger takes the gamekeeper's shotgun and moves cautiously to the track and is almost run over a car. It turns out to be Bertie, who explains that Biggles had flown to the farm and had asked him to drive down to provide backup. Ginger and Bertie decide to go to the farm to find Biggles. Chapter 16: More Questions Without Answers Biggles tells Bertie to take the gamekeeper to the nearest hospital and then call the local police. He and Ginger set off but when they get to the spot, the body is gone! Cruising on for a little while, they find him still alive, crawling along the road. They help him into the car and Bertie drives off. Ginger returns to Biggles, who is getting anxious about the long delay. Chapter 17: How It All Ended Biggles and Ginger hear hammering sounds coming from the farmhouse and go to investigate. They find Thompson. He had run into Lazor who had knocked him on the head and then run off, locking him in the farmhouse. Biggles and Ginger are helping Thompson to the aircraft when they hear cars approaching and then crashing sounds. It turns out to be a police car. The local police sergeant had been heading for the farm when met a man stumbling along the road, waving his arms. There was a collision and the man had been killed outright. Examining the body, Biggles discovers that it is Lazor! The facts would take a while to emerge. It seemed Lazor had shot the gamekeeper but the bullet had been deflected by a brass button on his jacket. At the same time, the gamekeeper's fingers had tightened instinctively on the trigger of his shotgun, resulting in Lazor being shot. The wounded criminal then tried to go to the farmhouse, probably to look for first aid. There he had run into Thompson. Making off from the farmhouse, he had gone down the road and there collided into the police car. Category:Plot summaries